The Michigan State Spartans play the Fighting Illini at 7 pm EST Thursday. The 13th-ranked team's game with Illinois will be on the ESPN live stream.
You can watch the ESPN3 Live Stream here.
Michigan State enters the contest sitting in third place in the Big Ten. The Spartans are ranked 13th in the AP Top 25 and have been for three straight weeks, but are ninth in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the second week in a row.
The Spartans have three losses all season, followed by five, six and six game win streaks entering tonight's action. The first defeat came against #23 UConn in the team's first game of the year. Michigan State also lost to Miami on November 28 and #9 Minnesota on December 31. Twice this season, Sparty has defeated ranked teams: the win against #7 Kansas in the second game of the year and a 59-56 win over 11th-ranked Ohio State.
In the most recent game, the Spartans lost to #7 Indiana 75-70 on Sunday. Gary Harris had 21 points for the team high. Adreian Payne notched nine rebounds and Branden Dawson led the team in two departments: rebounds (8) and steals (4). As a team, Michigan State shot 47.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
Junior Keith Appling has more points per game (13.5) and assists per game (4.1) than anyone on the team. The junior Payne registers an average of 6.9 rebounds per game and has a .610 field goal percentage.
The Illinois team currently stands in ninth place in the Big Ten, having lost six of the last nine games. The Fighting Illini are 2-3 in five games against ranked opponents, losing the last game versus the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines 74-60. Brandon Paul had a team-high 15 points in the defeat, while Nnanna Eqwu racked up ten boards. Michigan shot 52.5 percent for the night.
The Illini lost to #8 Minnesota on Jan 9 fell earlier this year to #12 Missouri. Illinois has beaten #8 OSU on January 5 and also topped Gonzaga when the Bulldogs were ranked tenth.
Senior Brandon Paul has more points per game (17.9) than anyone on the team, and is second in rebounds per game (4.8). The sophomore Eqwu collects an average of 4.9 boards a game and blocks 1.4 shots per game. Sophomore Tracy Abrams is the team-leader in assists per game with 3.2this season. Junior Joseph Bertrand has the highest field goal percentage on the team with a .527 mark.
Senior Brandon Paul had a game-high 18 points in the previous game between the teams last year. It was a 42-41 Illini win. The Spartans shot 24.1 percent for the game, and Illinois had a 32.6 percent effort.